According to a legend, Gorkha King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who unified Nepal in late 18th century, was granted a blessing by Lord Gorakhnath that he will rule the country till his 11th generation.

Interestingly, King Gyanendra, 60, who will be dethroned after the country’s Constituent Assembly declares Nepal a republic, is the 11th descendant of Prithvi.

Gyanendra became King following the June 2001 palace massacre in which King Birendra and his entire family was killed. In a controversial report, a government inquiry commission blamed Crown Prince Dipendra for the killings.

An ambitious Gyanendra’s sacked the elected Sher Bahadur Deuba government inOctober 2002. He appointed a series of prime ministers before assuming absolute power in February 2005, a move that hastened his end as he was forced to reinstate Parliament after massive public protests led by parties in April 2006.

He was stripped of all his powers by the interim Parliament last year after the Maoists, who waged a decade long armed struggle to press for the monarchy’s abolition, signed a historic peace agreement and joined mainstream.

His picture was removed from the currency and the mandatory presence of the monarch, once revered as demi-god by his people, at important religious and national functions was done away with.